Atholl Estates is one of six entrants shortlisted for a national Historic Houses award for its inspired Castle Couture exhibition at the 13th century Blair Castle in Perthshire.
This is the only Scottish exhibition to be featured in the shortlist for Historic Houses’ inaugural Collections Award, sponsored and supported by fine-art auction house Dreweatts Auctioneers. Ancestral home to the Stewarts and Murrays of Atholl, Blair Castle’s Castle Couture exhibition showcases authentic, historic clothing which date from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Providing an insight to historic fashions, this exhibition features beautifully preserved Victorian ballgowns, waistcoats, sacque dresses and children’s outfits. Many of the pieces on display exemplify the extravagance and flamboyance of clothing through the generations with fabrics ranging from a Chinese painted silk dress to heavy brocade from Lyon, France, highlighting the distances travelled during those times.
Historic Houses is the country’s largest collection of historic houses and gardens. The organisation works on behalf of more than a thousand places, with the support of tens of thousands of members who help protect Britain’s special heritage.
This award recognises the story of facing new challenges or circumstances, responding to them, and re-imagining a collection for the future – a celebration of the work of curators, conservators and private collectors.
Karen Guthrie, Archivist at Blair Castle said, “We’re thrilled to have been selected as a finalist in Historic Houses’ inaugural awards. It’s been a fascinating journey to curate the exhibition: we uncovered long forgotten trunks containing treasures, such as a rare dress from the Jacobite era that’s some 250 years old and one that’s adorned with beetle wings.
“All of these heritage pieces on display are from the family’s treasure troves, they’re embedded in the history of Blair Castle and give a glimpse into the life and times of the family through the generations.”
The winner will be announced at the Historic Houses AGM on 15 November. The Castle Couture exhibition recently opened to the public and remains on display until 28 October 2022. For more information, please click here.
